Even as he faces his most competitive Congressional challenge in decades, 19-term East Bay Democratic Rep. Pete Stark, 80, has cut back on local campaign appearances –and turned down two upcoming debates sponsored by five area Chambers of Commerce and an Asian Pacific Islander group in his district.
Stark’s retreat from public and campaign appearances in the East Bay in the midst of a heated campaign has been noticeable since he made headlines recently with some eyebrow-raising campaign gaffes at a Chronicle editorial board and at a public debate in Hayward.
The California Congressional delegation’s longest serving member, who has served nearly 40 years in office, has faced an unusually strong challenge from Democratic challenger, Alameda County District Attorney Eric Swalwell, who is also a Dublin city councilmember.
Neither Stark’s campaign nor his Congressional office staff have responded to repeated Chronicle requests for information about the candidate’s upcoming public events.
But his campaign strategist, Alex Tourk, on Friday sent out a press release — touting Stark’s endorsement by President Barack Obama.
Dale Eldridge Kaye, who heads the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce, said her group is part of a coalition that included the chambers of Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville and Dublin; the groups jointly invited Stark for a debate during the congressional recess and offered a May 21 date with Swalwell and independent candidate Chris Pareja.

But the Congressman turned down the invite to address representatives of upwards of 2,000 businesses in the Livermore and San Ramon Valleys, a region newly incorporated in Stark’s Congressional district, CD-15, because of California’s recently redrawn legislative lines.
“People are a little taken aback,” Eldridge Kaye said, who said she tried to accomodate Stark with other dates. ”He may feel there’s a agenda because we’re business-friendly — and he may not realize we are non-partisan.”’
Kevin Ikuma of the Asian Pacific Islander Public Affairs Association (APAPA), a non- partisan group, said his organization also invited Stark for a late May Hayward debate during the Congressional recess. Despite several attempts to work with his staff, Ikuma said he got ”no response.”
“We are certainly disappointed,” Ikuma said. “We wanted to inform everybody, certainly in the AAPI community,” he said. ”Our goal was to give him a chance to meet the community, so the community can learn more about who represents them…(not) to push a certain agenda.”

Stark’s political troubles began at an earlier debate in Hayward sponsored by the League of Women Voters last month, in which he accused Swalwell, 31, of taking “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes from developers.
The Congressman later apologized and retracted the comment.
A week later at a Chronicle editorial board, he falsely accused the paper’s “Token Conservative” blogger and columnist Debra J. Saunders of contributing to Swalwell’s campaign. He apologized to the paper’s editors and Saunders afterward.
Still, the candidate had something big to celebrate on Friday, when Stark’s office released a statement from Obama, calling the Congressman “a tireless champion for all of the 15th’s working families.”
“We have made great strides, but there is much more to do. That is why we need his dedicated efforts back in Congress to continue the fight with me,” said Obama in a statement emailed to reporters.

Stark, in his emailed response, said: “I am honored to receive the President’s endorsement. After a campaign focused on health care, working families and economic development, my first task back in Congress will be to work with the President and other members of Congress to get our economy back on the right track.”